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Province of Le'Tarn
Excerpts from L’Histoire de Le’Tarn, by Guillaume Robaire Part 1 In the 256th year of the Fifth Era two minor kings, King Gaspard de Caen of Etienne, and King Francisco de Segovia of Segovia, in the face of the expansion of the First Empire formed the United Kingdoms of Le'Tarn. Etienne Etienne lay in the south east of what would eventually become the Kingdom of Le’Tarn, occupying much of the space that bordered the City States of La’Arn, controlling much of the trade that flowed from the east into the region, as a result Etienne had enjoyed much economic prosperity despite its smaller sample size of arable land compared to the rich wine country of Ardenne and Segovia. Culture of Etienne Due to their close proximity, Etienne shared many cultural practices and much of its language with the Kingdom of Segovia. This shared culture and history gave rise to many alliances over the ages between the two kingdoms, often in protest to the attempts of the Kingdom of Segovia to exert their own power within the South. One of the principle holidays of Etienne is Nou’An, the Etienne celebration of the New Year. This day includes large feasts, festivals, and parades to celebrate the end of winter and the coming of spring. As a result of the continual influx of money Etienne fought its wars primarily through the use of mercenary armies, allowing its main citizenry to take up artisan crafts to continue driving the merchant trade. However despite this over-reliance on mercenaries has a core contingent of Etienne Knights, known as the Knights of Saint-Etienne who patrol the countryside as well as the border in the name of their king. Military As stated above the Etienne army is primarily made up of mercenary fighters from the individual Free Cities to the east. Though loyal primarily to gold this never became an issue for Etienne, whose generous amount of wealth allowed them to maintain independence without having to resort to levying their peasantry. The Knights of Saint-Etienne Among the most famed knighthood orders in the empire, the Knights of Saint Etienne form the framework of the Etienne peacekeeping, keeping the peace on the main roads as well as the edge of the border. They can be easily identified by their dark green heraldry, and their symbol is a marigold. Segovia Segovia comprises much of Le’Tarn, being much bigger than its primary neighbor, Etienne. The large amount of arable land is not only fit for growing grain but also wine, a fact that makes Segovia the largest exporter of wine in the Continent. ' Culture of Segovia' Segovia’s cultural similarities with Etienne is the result of their close history and continued exchange of wine through southern trade routes, as a result both share similar languages as well as holidays, though Segovia has a distinct (Iberian) deviation that makes it easily identifiable. The kingdom’s majority ownership of southern Le’Tarn made them one of the premier seafaring powers of the south who boasted a relatively well armed navy that protected trade within the region. Military Unlike Etienne, Segovia relies upon a levy-based military, recruiting from a pool of peasantry that during times of peace tend to the vast tracts of land that produce a number of goods including wheat, barley, as well as wine. Though not as disciplined as the armies of the Heartland of the Empire, Segovia boasted a large amount of soldiers compared to other territories, a number reaching about thirty thousand troops, an army that was sometimes hired by the neighboring Etienne in order to fight their wars. L'Histoire Union In the Fifth Era, Year 256, the continued expansion of the Empire to the north eventually gave cause for the kingdoms of Segovia and Etienne to band together in order to maintain their long held independence, forming the Kingdom of Le’Tarn. In this kingdom two kings ruled in conjunction, the king of Etienne and Segovia co-ruled, established by King Gaspard de Caen of Etienne and King Francisco de Segovia of Segovia.